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BOOK REVI EWS 3 2 3 est in re-creatin g p e o p le ’s em otion s an d m ot ives, a t ech n iqu e t h at d oes n ot d istort th ese often sh adow y figures b u t im bu es th em w ith life. A s sh e claim s in “T h e A r t o f M em oir,” “W h e n I specu late, I say so. . . . Bu t an y story d ep en d s u p on its sh ap e. In arran gin g t h e scraps t h at h ave b een p assed d ow n t o m e, w h ich are t o b e selected , w h ich d iscard ed ? T h e b ou n d ary o f creat ive n on fic­ t io n w ill alw ays b e as fluid as w ater” (7 ). In on e o f h er m ost com p e llin g essays, “M ot h er Lo d e ,” Blew exam in es fem ale M o n t an a w riters, in clu d in g w riters as d iverse as D orot h y Jo h n so n , a b esp ect acled , sligh t W h it efish n ative w h o “w rote in t h e w estern gen re b et ter t h an an y ot h er w estern gen re w riter, before or sin ce,” an d M ild red W alk er (9 7 ). Blew discu sses, often h u m orou sly, h ow th ese M on t an a w riters car ved ou t a n ich e for w riters like h e rself by parod yin g, su b vertin g, an d recon cep tu alizin g p reviou s w estern literary con ve n tion s— exclu d in g perh ap s Jo h n son , w h ose su ccess as a writer, h ow ever, certain ly en cou raged later w om en . U n lik e W ist er’s T h e V irgin ian , w h ose p r ot agon ist , Blew avow s, “w ou ld b ore an y girl w ith h is rh ap sod izin g an d drive h er w ild w ith h is m oralizin g an d h is in sist en ce o n h a v ­ in g h is ow n w ay,” Be rt h a M uzzy Bow er’s con cu r ren t n ovel, C h ip o f th e Fly in g U , is “du sty an d realist ic,” co n tain in g an easter n h eroin e w h o fails t o fill th e M o n t an a ch ar act er s’ exp ect at ion s o f squ eam ish n ess, an d a h ero w h o is “fem ale fan t asy t em p ered w ith firsth an d e xp er ien ce” (93 , 8 8 , 9 2). A s a b ook ish , n ative M o n t an an m yself, I can iden tify w ith Blew ’s love of M ild red W alk er ’s n ovels, w h ose fem ale p r ot agon ist s exp er ien ce m an y o f th e sam e con flicts an d sit u at ion s Blew h e rself e xp er ien ced as a you n g w om an in eastern M on tan a. Blew cred it s W alk er for “open [in g] a d oor for m e an d so m an y oth ers t o follow h er,” m u ch as sh e h e rself d oes for asp irin g...

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